Dick Nichols, Dudelange

Compared with a southern Europe stricken by ever-rising unemployment and
government attacks on social welfare and democratic rights, Luxembourg can
feel as if it is on another, much more pleasant, planet.

The richest country in Europe -- with Gross Domestic Product per capita at
least 30% higher than that of the US, unemployment at 5.9% and the
second-lowest public sector debt to GDP ratio -- this most important
financial centre after London's City would seem to be floating above the
crisis.

However, the resolutions adopted at the April 22 Ninth Ordinary Congress of
Luxembourg's Dei Lenk (The Left) revealed another picture -- of the
country's advanced social model coming under rising attack, and of this
offensive meeting rising resistance from the union movement and the left.
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/51014


--
"Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is humanity's
original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made,
through disobedience and through rebellion." -- Oscar Wilde, Soul of Man
Under Socialism

"The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?" -- Jarvis Cocker


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Spot-on.

Renfrey

To: GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com
From: chris_w_slee@...
Date: Sun, 13 May 2012 01:55:18 +0000
Subject: [GreenLeft_discussion] Re: Confronting racism in Libya






























--- In GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com, Renfrey Clarke <renfreyclarke@...>
wrote:

>

>

>

> The development of working-class consciousness is indeed uneven. But what
Chris points to is also true:  popular racist prejudices can be defeated if
those who oppose them are principled and ready to work hard over many years.

>

> Broader popular struggles can have a major impact here. If workers are
involved in fighting for their own rights, they tend to see the contradiction
involved in their accepting the denial of rights to others. I've no doubt this
dynamic is at work in Libya, where the struggle to overthrow Gaddafi had, in
sum, a powerful liberating thrust. All the more reason not to write the mass of
militia fighters off as racist, and therefore reactionary.

>



I don't write off the mass of militia fighters as incurably racist or
reactionary (nor would I would write off the mass of pro-Gaddafi fighters as
supporters of dictatorship).



But in judging the nature of the militias, we can not ignore the involvement of
some of them in racist pogroms.



The struggle against racism is a key part of the struggle for democracy -
particularly in a country such as Libya where, as Renfrey mentions, there is a
relatively recent history of slavery.  A militia that violently attacks black
people is anti-democratic, even if it claims to be fighting for democracy.



The main blame falls not on the rank and file but on the leadership - both the
military commanders of the militias and the political leaders of the rebel
movement (the NTC and the various local political leadership bodies).



Chris Slee


















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Its easy to bend the stick either way on this issue. The balance oftens rests
brtween thosde who attempt to deny it didn't exist and those who said it was the
major current in working class thinking.

Am currently working my way throeugh the Victorian Tramways Union records for a
pssible history of the union. Reading the union journal (Tramway Record) I think
from the mid 1960s I came accross this comment in Depot news column from one of
the Depots. At the time Depot scribes had the freedom to say what they liked
(that was still the case when I was on the job). The comment ran something like
this: 'We welcome our new members from oversea but remind them that in the depot
on meal breaks they should only speak English'. Not good that it was printed and
a bit sad that there was no comment from the union leadership. But these is a
difference I think between this causal chauvinism and consisent racism - the two
are different and need to be treated differently.

And I do remember a guy from the old Yugoslavia who at one time I assume to bait
me called the Vietnamese 'slopeheads' (not to their face of course). I told him
to 'fuckoff' in no uncertain rwems and go home and talk to his parents if he
wanted to understand racism. I don't think he did again near me. Much later I
think in the late 1980s or early 1990s Brunswick Depot members forced out a
member/supporter of National Action when he started leaving leaflets around. So
things do imrove over time.

LATIN AMERICAN HERALD TRIBUNE
May 13, 2012

U. S. Rejects Cuban Offer for Prisoner Swap

WASHINGTON – The United States has rejected an apparent Cuban offer to
exchange imprisoned American contractor Alan Gross for five Cuban intelligence
agents convicted of espionage in Florida more than a decade ago.

“There is no equivalence between these situations.  On the one hand, you have
convicted spies in the United States and on the other hand you have an
assistance worker who should never have been locked up in the first place,”
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Friday in her daily press
briefing.

Those remarks were in response to statements by the director of the North
American division of Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, Josefina Vidal, who told CNN
Thursday that Havana had conveyed to Washington its readiness to seek a
“humanitarian solution to Mr. Gross’ case on reciprocal terms.”

Although Vidal did not specify the proposal presented to U.S. authorities,
Nuland confirmed Friday that it was related to the situation of five Cuban
intelligence agents convicted of espionage by a federal jury in Miami in 2001.

One member of the “Cuban Five,” Rene Gonzalez, was released last year but
must serve three years’ probation before he can return to Cuba.

Havana acknowledges the men – all except Gonzalez still in prison, one serving
a life sentence – were intelligence agents but says they were spying on
Miami’s Cuban exile community not the U.S. government.

“The Cuban government has regularly tried to link these things, and we
regularly reject the linkage,” Nuland said when asked about the proposed swap.

“We categorically reject the charges against him and the fact that he’s been
locked up,” the spokeswoman said.

Now 63, Gross was arrested in Havana on Dec. 3, 2009, in possession of satellite
communications equipment he said he was planning to distribute among Cuba’s
Jewish community.

Havana says he was illegally aiding dissidents and inciting subversion on the
Communist-ruled island.  Last August, Cuba’s highest court upheld the 15-year
prison sentence imposed on Gross five months earlier.

Gross was in Cuba as an employee of a Maryland firm contracted by the U.S.
Agency for International Development.

Nuland added that Gross’ continued imprisonment was an “affront to human
decency” and blasted Cuban authorities for not allowing him to travel to the
United States to visit his mother, who has inoperable lung cancer.

She recalled that Washington allowed Gonzalez to travel to the island in late
March for a brief visit with his brother, who also has terminal cancer, and said
it is regrettable that Cuba “can’t even grant that kind of humanity in a
totally equivalent situation.”

During her interview with CNN, Vidal said Cuba cannot grant Gross’ request
because his prison sentence “began three years ago” and he is still subject
to conditions that bar him from leaving the island.

Havana has suggested instead that Gross’ mother visit her son in prison, a
proposal that the contractor told CNN’s “Situation Room” earlier this
month was “baloney.”

“She is medically ordered not to travel.  And the government of Cuba knows
this.  And yet they offered to send a plane to Miami to bring her here.  My
mother does not live in Miami.  My mother lives in Texas,” Gross said in the
interview, adding that he was being held in a “secured hospital building” in
Havana.

“That’s baloney.  I’m trying to catch myself so I don’t use a stronger
word.”

He pledged that he would return to Cuba and complete his 15-year sentence if the
island’s authorities granted his request.

“I would return to Cuba.  You can quote me on that.  I’m saying it live.  I
would return to Cuba if they let me visit my mother before she dies,” Gross
said.

=========================================
      WALTER LIPPMANN
      Los Angeles, California
      Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
      "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

(The reporter's persistence helps bring out
the attitude of Washington to public light.

(The correspondent challenged her on Gross
having violated Cuban law and Washington's
negotiations with the Taliban for a trade
of one US soldier for five Taliban who are
in prison at the US base in Guantanamo.)
==============================================
Victoria Nuland
Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
May 11, 2012
--------------

QUESTION: Yesterday, a Cuban official gave an interview to CNN.  Josefina Vidal
is her name.  She said that they’ve conveyed some kind of offer to the U.S.
Government on the release of Alan Gross.  Is there any possibility at all of
negotiation on that front?

MS. NULAND: Well, I think if you go back to an interview that Secretary Clinton
gave to CNN earlier in the week from New Delhi, she was very clear on this
subject.  There is no equivalence between these situations.  On the one hand,
you have convicted spies in the United States, and on the other hand, you have
an assistance worker who should never have been locked up in the first place. 
So we are not contemplating any release of the Cuban Five, and we are not
contemplating any trade.  The continuing imprisonment of Alan Gross is
deplorable, it is wrong, and it’s an affront to human decency.  And the Cuban
Government needs to do the right thing.

QUESTION: So – okay.

QUESTION: Go ahead.

QUESTION: So you are confirming that this offer was related to the Cuban Five,
because she didn’t confirm it in the --

MS. NULAND: The Cuban Government has regularly tried to link these things, and
we regularly reject the linkage.

QUESTION: Well – but I mean, why is it okay – I mean, and several officials
have discussed that in those discussions with the Taliban on trading five
Taliban prisoners, and Bowe Bergdahl was involved, possibly involved in the
trade – why is it okay to talk about trading with the Taliban but not with the
Cubans for a U.S. person that’s been in jail and is in poor health?

MS. NULAND: There’s no equivalency in these situations, and the Cuban
Government knows that.  This is a matter of a sitting government having locked
up a human – an assistance worker on no basis whatsoever.  And one ought to be
able to work with an established government to deal with an American citizen in
an appropriate manner, and we have so far failed to do that with this
government.

QUESTION: All right.  But you say that he did not break Cuban law?

MS. NULAND: I’m not going to speak to what – one way or the other.

QUESTION: Well, I mean --

MS. NULAND: I mean, our view is he did nothing wrong.

QUESTION: Well, then why is it – well --

MS. NULAND: He did nothing wrong, and we don’t – we think that his --

QUESTION: His activities – the Cubans say that his activities violated Cuban
law.  Now whether you agree or disagree with what the Cuban law says, that’s
an entirely different story.

MS. NULAND: We --

QUESTION: However, he – what he was doing, they say, broke their law.  Now --

MS. NULAND: Well, we categorically reject --

QUESTION: That – alas – so why is this – okay, but you categorically
reject that he broke their law?

MS. NULAND: We categorically reject the charges against him, and the fact that
he’s been locked up.

QUESTION: Okay.  But you said this is an affront to human decency.

MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: Why?  Because he’s sick?  Because – why is it an affront to human
decency?

MS. NULAND: Because they locked him up with no cause.  They are refusing even
basic humanitarian consideration for him.  Let me just give you one comparison
that we do consider of note in this case.

Even with the Cuban Five, all right, we had one of them, Rene Gonzalez, who had
served 15 years for spying.  He was on parole in the United States.  He asked to
be able to go back to Cuba to visit a sick relative.  We granted him the ability
to go back to Cuba.  He did that and he came back.  That was a humanitarian
gesture; again, a completely different situation.  But the Cuban Government
can’t even grant that kind of humanity in a totally (inaudible) situation to
begin with, so hence the language.

QUESTION: On that --

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: -- yesterday, the Cuban officials said that he can’t travel to the
United States to see his mother because he’s at the start of his sentence. 
What do you say to that?

MS. NULAND: Look, we just reject the whole business, any equivalency and any
sort of position by the Cuban Government that this is anything but completely
unjust.

=========================================
      WALTER LIPPMANN
      Los Angeles, California
      Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
      "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

This exchange is reaching sublime levels. There is a world of difference between
racist prejudices amongst workers in Australia or  Libya, and actually carrying
out unspeakable racist slaughter - physically slaying and torturing those who
have black skin. Are we in SA trying to reduce the severity of ethic cleansing
carried out because we offered them political support?

Can these horrific and virtually unmentionable massacres simply come down to the
leadership of the militias? Certainly they had some responsibility, but this
approach also offers us in SA a way out from culpability as well. If we say
"well the leadership of the militias were racist and right wing and carried out
ethnic cleansing, but we supported the movement, which was democratic", does
this make sense?

I am not accusing anyone in SA of supporting ethnic cleansing. But I think we in
SA are trying to run away from admitting that we backed the uprising against
Gaddafi - an "uprising" which was racist, reactionary, and right wing as well as
pro-imperialist. And unfortunately, our SA policy on the Arab Spring locks us in
to doing it again - as has been shown in Syria. Although in the case of Syria,
we in SA are backing away from supporting the Syrian "opposition" because to do
that would be to line up with the Bahraini and Saudi monarchies. Nevertheless,
if we don't support the Syrian opposition, we are not following SA policy which
states that we "support uprisings" against "tyrannies", "who once had
antagonistic relations with the West".

It is for this reason that the RET will continue to push for the repeal of SA's
Arab Spring policy.

Adam Baker



--- In GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com, Renfrey Clarke <renfreyclarke@...>
wrote:
>
>
> Spot-on.
>
> Renfrey
>
> To: GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com
> From: chris_w_slee@...
> Date: Sun, 13 May 2012 01:55:18 +0000
> Subject: [GreenLeft_discussion] Re: Confronting racism in Libya
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com, Renfrey Clarke <renfreyclarke@>
wrote:
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > The development of working-class consciousness is indeed uneven. But what
Chris points to is also true:  popular racist prejudices can be defeated if
those who oppose them are principled and ready to work hard over many years.
>
> >
>
> > Broader popular struggles can have a major impact here. If workers are
involved in fighting for their own rights, they tend to see the contradiction
involved in their accepting the denial of rights to others. I've no doubt this
dynamic is at work in Libya, where the struggle to overthrow Gaddafi had, in
sum, a powerful liberating thrust. All the more reason not to write the mass of
militia fighters off as racist, and therefore reactionary.
>
> >
>
>
>
> I don't write off the mass of militia fighters as incurably racist or
reactionary (nor would I would write off the mass of pro-Gaddafi fighters as
supporters of dictatorship).
>
>
>
> But in judging the nature of the militias, we can not ignore the involvement
of some of them in racist pogroms.
>
>
>
> The struggle against racism is a key part of the struggle for democracy -
particularly in a country such as Libya where, as Renfrey mentions, there is a
relatively recent history of slavery.  A militia that violently attacks black
people is anti-democratic, even if it claims to be fighting for democracy.
>
>
>
> The main blame falls not on the rank and file but on the leadership - both the
military commanders of the militias and the political leaders of the rebel
movement (the NTC and the various local political leadership bodies).
>
>
>
> Chris Slee
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Dave writes:

> In regard to 'left unity' options as far as I know the Adelaide initiative was
instigated by members of the Greens... that's hardly to Adam's taste I know: but
then if he wants to get something going in like mode --albeit only with
certified Marxists --  I'm  sure there is a willing partner in the Alliance.

I'm not sure about the Greens instigating Left Unity in Adelaide. Weren't they
ex-Greens, or at least disenchanted Greens?
>
> So go  for it: do it -- go talk up the option with SAlt or whoever and propose
something concrete -- get something  happening that is a creative option to the
SA's purported "one way".
>
> Again I ask: do you seriously think that the Alliance will oppose or pass on 
ANY left unity initiative?

Probably not - but SA is only interested in it's model of "left unity" - a model
which includes unity with social-democrats, Greens, greens, libertarians,
anarchists and all types. This is not left unity as it should be understood.
This is not socialist unity, let alone Marxist unity.

We in SA seem to believe that we have made a huge step forward for left unity if
we unite a socialist with a social-democrat. The socialist has to give way to
social-democratic politics on almost every point, but this is still understood
by us in SA as "left unity" and then we imagine that we are doing great things
for the movement for socialism. In reality, we are bleeding socialist politics
at every step, and subordinating it to the distinctly un-socialist politics of
the non-socialists we "unite" with.

An advance is only made if we unite with non-socialists *and then win them to
socialist political positions*. Our SA model does not allow us to do this - we
just leave the politics of non-socialists where they are, and then make
concession after concession after concession until we agree with the
non-socialist.

I have problems with the Marxism of SAlt, the RSP, the CPA, the SP and most
other left parties. But even with what we understand as their political
shortcomings, I contend that these parties are doing more to build socialism in
this country than we are in SA. Even a heavily distorted Marxism is better than
a Marxism which is kept as an academic study in the background, and not observed
in practice. In the left orgs which distort Marxism, it is nonetheless accepted
as a base. In our SA, we have to win arguments for Marxism before we can even
try to implement it. And in fact, the current structure of SA does not allow
Marxist positions to predominate lest we lose our more broad support.

Left unity is only a step forward if it is a unity based on Marxist positions.
Of course we need to "reach out", but once we have the ear of the masses, we
still have to win them to the Marxist program. Otherwise the "reach out" will be
wasted. We in SA not only need to "reach out" - we also need to "win over". If
we are not winning people over to socialism (and Marxism has to be a part of
this), we are not building socialism. This needs to be addressed before we have
ideas about left unity. At the moment, the RET suggests the best way to do this
is to form and build Marxist currents within SA, and let them be known outside
SA as well. This might encourage other left parties to join as currents to SA. A
discussion between Marxist currents inside and/or outside SA would then be a
very fruitful dialogue indeed - and a mighty advance over organisational unity
using very limited ideas of social justice.

Adam Baker

http://richardfalk.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/learning-from-the-irish-hunger-strik\
es-of-1981-and-the-palestinian-chall/

[Please note the suggestion for using the Carlos Latoof cartoon for fliers on
Nakba Day.]

Learning from the Irish Hunger Strikes of 1981 and the Palestinian Challenge 11
May




Prefatory Note

John Hurson in Ireland has been keenly conscious of the affinities between the
historic Irish hunger strike of 1981 and the ongoing Palestinian hunger strikes.
He has travelled to Gaza on several occasions on humanitarian aid convoys, and
is the founder of the on line Gaza TV News service. I suggested that we
collaborate on an article that might recall the Irish experience, especially the
parallels and the potential implications for the future of the Palestinian
struggle.

John Hurson ends his reflective essay with a comparison between the
hardheartedness of Netanyahu and the British leader at the time, Margaret
Thatcher. Although more than 30 years have passed since Bobby Sands and his nine
fellow prisoners died as a result of carrying their prison protests to their
ultimate point of no return.   I hope and pray that no Palestinian hunger
strikers die. Their moral authority and political energy is needed to galvanize
further these glimmerings of a Palestinian awakening. The impact of Khader Adnan
and later Hana Shalabi, after their release from Israeli prisons is
illustrative, and helps us all understand that although abusive arrest and
administrative detention is the immediate cause of the hunger strikes, their
agenda was always far broader than seeking personal relief. Their intention,
already partially effective, was to shine a bright light of truth on the manner
in which Israel has used administrative detention, as well as on broader
concerns about Palestinian imprisonment more generally, and beyond this, to call
attention to the unlawful and immoral denial through decades and across
generations of fundamental Palestinians rights under a structure called
internationally `occupation' but experienced as a lethal blend of annexation,
apartheid, and settler colonialism.

At this time present medical condition of at least six long-term hunger strikers
has been reported to be grave for the past several days. The respected
Palestinian NGO, Addameer, gave details in its May 9th release entitled "Update:
Situation of Long-Term Hunger Strikers Becomes Increasingly Urgent." Those in
critical condition include Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Diab (74 days); Hassan
Shafadi (68 days); Omar Abu Shalal (66 days); Mohammad Taj (55 days); Jaafar
Azzedine (51 days).



There have been calls made for a worldwide empathy and solidarity hunger strike
on Tuesday, May 15, the day that the Nabka is observed by Palestinians and their
friends worldwide. I intend to make this gesture of support, and hope many
others will join, and send a further message that the cause of Palestinian
justice is rising to the top of the moral agenda of the peoples of the world
even in the face of the awful complicity of Western governments with an
intolerable situation of prolonged occupation and exile.

The featured cartoon, suggested John Hurson, is by Carlos Latoof, the award
winning Brazilian cartoonist who has so ofter memorably depicted the torments
and tormentors of Palestine.



********************************************************************************\
************

RECALLING THE IRISH HUNGER STRIKE OF 1981

By John Hurson of County Tyrone, Ireland

In 1980, 7 IRA men in the H Block prison embarked on a hunger strike seeking to
re establish their political status, which the British Government had ended 4
years before. After 53 days, and the men close to death, a deal was apparently
on the table from the Thatcher led British Government, and the men called of
their hunger strike. In the days that followed, it became clear that there was
no deal.   2 months later, another hunger strike was announced, and on March
1st, Bobby Sands began his hunger strike. As part of their strategy, different
men would join at later stages. Several men would follow Bobby, and by the end
of the summer, 10 men had died before the hunger strike was called off.

The prisoners had 5 demands:

1. The right not to wear a prison uniform;

2. The right not to do prison work;

3. The right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise
educational and recreational pursuits;

4. The right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week;

5. Full restoration of remission lost through the protest.

In the months that followed, several of the demands were met, and within 2
years, all 5.   A few weeks after Bobby started his fast, the MP for Fermanagh
and South Tyrone died, and an election was called. A decision was made to run
Bobby as a candidate in order to gain more attention to their plight, and on his
41st day on hunger strike, he was elected MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone.  
His election lit a spark where the Republican movement saw the impact of
electoral success. The rise of Sinn Fein to where they are today can be traced
back to this victory. Today, Sinn Fein are a major political force in Ireland,
and have elected representatives in all corners of Ireland. During the
negotiations that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Fein
played a major role. Today, Martin McGuiness is the Deputy First Minister in the
Stormont Executive, and meets world leaders on a regular basis. Gerry Adams, the
party leader, is an elected TD (Teachta Dala, Gaellic designation for Member of
Parliament) in the Irish Parliament.   There is no doubt that the hunger strike
of 1981 changed things forever, not only for the prisoners in the H Blocks, but
politically. The names of the 10 men are ingrained forever in Irish history, and
the dark days of 1981 are now a beacon of hope for the future.   February 21st,
2012,

Khader Adnan ended his hunger strike after 66 days, the same length of time
Bobby Sands endured before he died on May 5th 1981. Throughout Khader's hunger
strike, he was compared to Bobby Sands, the first of ten men to die in the
Hunger Strike of 1981.   Forever, the 2 men will be talked about in the same
breath for their courage, determination, and in Bobby's case, ultimate
sacrifice.   At the beginning of March 1981, Bobby Sands began his Hunger
Strike. He died on May 5th.   Following Bobby, Francis Hughes, Ray McCreesh,
Patsy O'Hara, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Thomas
McElwee, and Mickey Devine all died before the strike was called off.





As Khader Adnan approached the 50 day mark, I contacted Tommy McKearney and he
recorded a message for Khader and his family. Tommy's message carried a unique
understanding of Khader's condition as Tommy had gone 53 days without food in
1980.   I contacted Oliver Hughes in South Derry. Oliver's brother, Francis,
died after 59 days, and his cousin Thomas McElwee after 62. Oliver  recorded a
very powerful message .   As Khader was on his 64th day, I got in contact with
the family of Ray McCreesh. They sent a statement of support for Khader and his
family. Ray McCreesh (61 days), died on the same day as Patsy O'Hara.(61 days)  
Patsy 's brother Tony sent a message of support  on behalf of himself, and his
mother Peggy.   Mickey Devine was the last of the 10 men to die in 1981.
Mickey's children, Michael og and Louise, sent through a heartfelt message,.
considering they were the same age as Khader's children when their father died,
their voices added a special meaning. Mickey Devine, (27), died on August 20th
1981   In addition to these messages, two other former hunger strikers added
their voices. Pat Sheehan(55 days), and Ray McCartney  (53 days), sent a video
message. Danny Morrison, who was a friend of Bobby Sands also issued a
statement.

On day 66, Khader reached an agreement with the Israeli Government to end his
strike on the condition that they would not renew his Administrative Detention
order, and release him on April 17th.   Following Khader's hunger strike several
other prisoners followed his example, and began hunger strikes in protest at
their incarceration under the Administrative Detention policy.   On April 17th,
over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners initiated a mass  hunger strike. The plight of
the Palestinian prisoners was set to take centre stage, and their struggle
brought to the worlds attention.   In the days that followed, hundreds more
joined them   Adding a voice of support for Bilal Diab and Thaer Hallahla who
were on day 70 of their hunger strike, was Laurence McKeown. Before ending his
fast, he had gone 70 days without food. He knew only to well the dangers facing
both men, and he recorded a message of support.   Two days later, Pat Sheehan,
MLA, issued a statement on behalf of Sinn Fein calling for an immediate end to
Administrative Detention, and support for the prisoners.   Bilal and Thaer are
on day 74 day of their hunger strike.

Ireland has a long history of the use of a hunger strike as a form of protest.
It has been used for centuries. Palestinian prisoners have been inspired by
Irish hunger strikes in the past, and this one is no different.   In 1981,
Palestinians prisoners sent a message of support to the families of the 10 men
who died. Their memory burns bright among current prisoners on hunger strike.  
This hunger strike has resonated widely in Ireland. .   The voices have roared
around the world, playing a pivotal role in bringing international awareness and
pressure on the Israeli Government, and their treatment of Palestinian
prisoners.   Historically, Ireland has had its fair share of tyrants. Amongst
them, Margaret Thatcher is in a league of her own for allowing 10 Irish men to
die on hunger strike before granting their 5 demands.



Judging from his past behaviour, Netanyahu, like Thatcher in 1981, is unlikely
to step in to avoid having any of these Palestinian die during their hunger
strikes.

Is the fuse being lit for a 3rd Intifada? Only the future will give us an answer

Who among non-Socialist Alliance lefties seriously wants there to be a
true left alliance?  No doubt there are some. (I know someone from
SAlt, and a couple ex RSP ers). But I expect that these are a
minority.  Some of these fear being dominated that massive group
Socialist Alliance - when we are still relatively small. I would love
to here from you. Speak up please. What kind of coalition/alliance
would you want, or what kind of coalition/alliance could you at least
accept?

--
For humanity, ecology, & socialism,
Luke Weyland

Syrian Media Highlights Cuba and Venezuela Support

Damascus, May 12 (Prensa Latina) Syrian newspapers today highlight the strong
condemnations of Cuba and Venezuela to the terrorist attacks staged in this
capital on Thursday.

According to a communique from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, President Hugo
Chavez expressed on behalf of his people and government strong rejection to the
series of recent terrorist attacks carried out in Syria.

A SANA news agency report revealed that the Bolivarian Government sent its most
heartfelt condolences to the brave Syrian people, and mainly to the families and
relatives of the victims of those terrorist attacks.

Caracas authorities have denounced the foreign policy of interference in
internal affairs and destabilization against Syria and ratified their support to
Damascus government and the determination to continue strengthening the
strategic alliance to preserve the sovereignty and well-being of both nations.

Meanwhile, Cuban Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Marcos Rodriguez Costa also
joined the condemnation to Thursday terrorist attacks in Syria and stressed that
only the people and authorities of Damascus can find a peaceful solution to the
crisis in their country.

sgl/ajs/ocs/lb Modificado el ( sábado, 12 de mayo de 2012 )

=========================================
      WALTER LIPPMANN
      Los Angeles, California
      Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
      "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

It seems that, again, you have not heard what the Greek People said! (11/5/2012)

http://international.koel.gr/

Press Statement of KOE
The bargaining discussions among the pro-troika political parties, aiming at the
formation of an "ecumenical government" with the addition of the "Democratic
Left", constitute an attempt to reconstruct the pro-troika reactionary block and
to save the trembling, rotten and guilty political system.

These attempts are a direct violation of the verdict of the Greek People on the
national elections of 6 May. At the same time, these attempts constitute a
continuation of the subordination of the pro-troika political parties to the
provocative and sustained interventions of Merkel, Sch�uble, Barroso, Dragi and
the like against the will of the Greek People.

The Greek People has sent a categorical and majoritarian message on 6 May
against the "agreements" with the IMF-EU-ECB troika. The colonial regime imposed
by the "agreements" and by the troika is once and for all condemned by the Greek
People. The same goes for its servants, no matter if they wear a blue (right
wing), green (PASOK) or pink ("Democratic Left") costume.

The Greek People demands that its vote is respected. The Greek People demands a
way out that excludes this political system, which either tolerated or imposed
the colonial regime of the new occupation by the imperialists and the bankers.

All these forces, which openly or covertly obey to the troika's demands, can be
sure that any attempt to counterfeit the People's will, shall only further grow
the popular rage, which will sweep away any pro-troika "government".

The forgery of the People's will shall fail!

Athens, 11 May 2012

Press Office of KOE

Calm in Syria Accompanied by Sit-In of Gov't Support

Damasco, May 13 (Prensa Latina) Enraged citizens fill squares and public spaces
of the capital on Sunday rejecting the actions of armed groups, which they
describe as terrorists in their protests.

Syria live moments of tense calm following Thursday's attacks that caused over
55 deaths and several hundred wounded.

This Sunday afternoon several hundred of people gathered in front of the old
train station in the center of this city to shout slogans condemning these
episodes of violence, which in their opinion are encouraged and supported from
outside.

Amid shouts and songs of support for President Bashar al-Assad, the sit-in is
just a sample of what is happening in other parts of the capital and the
interior, where the population rejects acts of violence and calls for a
civilized solution that allow the to live in peace.

According to Prensa Latina, in various parts of the city people feels affected
by the tragedy and a few speak of alienating women and children from the
possible actions of these groups.

Amid growing outrage, some families prepare conditions for moving to other
countries, despite the efforts of the authorities to curb acts of violence.

Syrian consulted by Prensa Latina indicated that to some extent they understand
the government's reasons for not responding with all means available to
extremist organizations, to avoid increasing the media campaign of lies against
the country and they do not want to give justifications for external
intervention.

However, much of the population thinks that patience is exhausted and are asking
for tough hand on terrorism.

sus/gpm-rmh/lb Modificado el ( domingo, 13 de mayo de 2012 )

=========================================
      WALTER LIPPMANN
      Los Angeles, California
      Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
      "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

Popes appeal even more pressing after deadly Syrian blast :
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/popes-appeal-even-more-pressing-after-dea\
dly-syrian-blast/
May 13, 2012

Pope's appeal even 'more pressing' after deadly Syrian blast

Damascus, Syria, May 11, 2012 / 12:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Syrian rebels and
officials were urged to heed Pope Benedict XVI's call for peace and dialogue,
after two suicide bombings killed 55 people in Damascus on May 10.

“The appeal made by the Holy Father on Easter Day is now more pressing than
ever,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi announced in a May 11
statement.  “It is necessary without delay to make an immediate commitment to
the path of respect, dialogue and reconciliation.”

“We cannot but express our strong condemnation and the heartfelt closeness of
the Holy Father and the Catholic community to the families of the victims,”
said the priest and director of the Holy See Press Office, reacting to the
explosions that “brought carnage to the streets of Damascus.”

“These attacks should encourage all sides to boost and strengthen their
commitment to implementing the Annan Peace Plan, which has been accepted by all
sides in the conflict,” Fr.  Lombardi stated.

He said the attacks “also show that the situation in Syria requires a firm and
joint commitment on the part of the entire international community to implement
that plan and, as soon as possible, to send further observers.”

More than 370 people were wounded by the two suicide car bombs, which went off
near a military intelligence building on Thursday morning.  The first vehicle
was detonated on a highway during the capital's morning rush hour, drawing a
crowd that was soon struck by the second and larger bomb.

Response within the country followed a now-predictable pattern, with officials
of the Assad government blaming the terrorist groups it says are behind the
Syrian uprising.  Meanwhile, some opposition figures put blame on the regime,
saying it engineered the attacks to discredit them.

U. N. Special Envoy Kofi Annan, tasked with implementing a peace plan for the
country, said none of the parties in Syria's year-long conflict would accomplish
their goals by terrorizing the other side.

“Any action that serves to escalate tensions and raise the level of violence
can only be counter-productive to the interests of all parties,” Annan said in
statement released on the day of the bombings.

“These abhorrent acts are unacceptable and the violence in Syria must stop,”
Annan declared, saying the Syrian people “have already suffered too much.”

=========================================
      WALTER LIPPMANN
      Los Angeles, California
      Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
      "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

Andrew's comments
<http://critiqueofcrisistheory.wordpress.com/responses-to-readers-austri\
an-economics-versus-marxism/the-failure-of-capitalist-production-by-andr\
ew-kliman-part-2/#comment-5024>  to my extended review of the "The
Failure of Capitalist Production" has clarified both the points of
agreement and the differences that exist between us in the field of
Marxist economics.

First, the agreements. We both agree that the Keynesian-Marxism of the
Monthly Review school as it stands is inadequate both as an analysis of
monopoly capitalism and as a response to the current historic crisis of
the capitalist system that began with the onset of the "Great
Recession" in 2007.

We also agree as against Sweezy and Monthly Review that Marx's law
of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall is necessary both to
understand the laws of motion of the capitalist system and the problem
of capitalist crisis. We agree that Marx and not Keynes provides the
answers.

We also agree that the "neo-Ricardian" claim that there are
basic inconsistencies in Marx's theory is value is incorrect. We
both uphold Marx's law of labor value.

We have important differences, however, on our interpretation of
Marx's law of value. I believe that Marx's law of labor value
requires the existence of commodity money, notwithstanding the end of
the gold standard at the end of the 1960s and early 1970s. Andrew
disagrees. This difference of opinion affects both our interpretation of
capitalist crises and our approach to the transformation problem.

In addition, I think there are some misunderstandings on Andrew's
part on what defines a capitalist that should be clarified. In addition,
I need to say a little more on the evolution of the rate of surplus
value since the end of the post-World II prosperity 40 years ago.

Despite my differences with Andrew, I want to stress what I said at the
beginning of this extended review. I liked "The Failure of
Capitalist Production" and recommend it to all serious students of
the Marxist critique of political economy and students of the present
extended economic crisis of capitalism, which is increasingly becoming a
grave political crisis�as the recent elections in France and
especially Greece reveal.

I also found Doug Henwood's remarks
<http://critiqueofcrisistheory.wordpress.com/responses-to-readers-austri\
an-economics-versus-marxism/the-failure-of-capitalist-production-by-andr\
ew-kliman-part-2/#comment-4902>  to be useful as well, since it sheds
light on my critique of the attempts to mix Marx and Keynes.

I must stress that the aim of this blog is not to destroy or crush other
Marxists with whom I disagree on one and other point, but to advance
Marxist economic science in order to get nearer to the truth.

Read more...
<http://critiqueofcrisistheory.wordpress.com/responses-to-readers-austri\
an-economics-versus-marxism/a-reply-to-comments-by-andrew-kliman-and-dou\
g-henwood/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/9258264/Israel-facin\
g-major-West-Bank-uprising-over-Palestinian-hunger-strike.html
--
�Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is humanity�s
original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made,
through disobedience and through rebellion.� � Oscar Wilde, Soul of Man
Under Socialism

�The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?� � Jarvis Cocker


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com, "eastwest3173" <eastwest3173@...>
wrote:
>
> This exchange is reaching sublime levels. There is a world of difference
between racist prejudices amongst workers in Australia or  Libya, and actually
carrying out unspeakable racist slaughter - physically slaying and torturing
those who have black skin. Are we in SA trying to reduce the severity of ethic
cleansing carried out because we offered them political support?
>

I agree that there is a difference between expressing racist prejudice and
carrying out racist murder - although the former can help create the conditions
for the latter.

I would assume that most members of the Libyan militias did not actually commit
racist murder (though they did nothing to stop those who did).

Adam says:
> Can these horrific and virtually unmentionable massacres simply come down to
the leadership of the militias? Certainly they had some responsibility, but this
approach also offers us in SA a way out from culpability as well. If we say
"well the leadership of the militias were racist and right wing and carried out
ethnic cleansing, but we supported the movement, which was democratic", does
this make sense?
>

I didn't just blame the leadership of the militias, but also the "political
leaders of the rebel movement (the NTC and the various local political
leadership bodies)".  What seems to have begun as a spontaneous democratic
upsurge was soon hijacked by reactionary forces.

The decision of the rebel leadership (or at least a section of it ) to instigate
racist violence has dramatically worsened the position of black people in Libya.
For this reason (amongst others) the victory of the rebellion can not be
considered a victory for democracy.

The struggle for democracy and social justice, and against imperialist
domination, will have to start again from a very low base.

I was perhaps not clear enough in my comments on rank and file militia members. 
I said they are not "incurably" racist - but that does not mean they are not
racist.  It means that their attitudes could change under certain circumstances.
(The most extreme racists will not change, but others may do so)

If there is a new rise of democratic struggle, including anti-racist struggle,
the attitudes of former militia members may change.  However there is not much
sign of this at present.

Chris Slee

http://www.libyaherald.com/human-rights-watch-calls-for-qaddafi-law-to-be-amende\
d/

from Libya Herald:

Human Rights Watch attacks Thuwar amnesty law

Tripoli, 11 May:

The NTC has come under fire from the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW)
for drawing up legislation protecting from prosecution anyone whose actions were
aimed at "promoting or protecting the revolution" against the regime of Muammar
Qaddafi.

Law 38, "On Some Procedures for the Transitional Period", passed on 2 May and
going into effect tomorrow, 12 May, says there shall be no penalty for
"military, security, or civil actions dictated by the 17 February Revolution
that were performed by revolutionaries with the goal of promoting or protecting
the revolution."

This is not the first time the NTC has been criticised by the rights group for
legislation it has passed in recent weeks. Law 37, which makes it an offence to
"glorify" Qaddafi or do anything which could "damage" the revolution, has also
been heavily criticised as anti-democratic by a range of Libyan and
international groups.

Explaining the group's opposition to Law 38, Human Rights Watch's deputy Middle
East and North Africa director Joe Stork said, "This law allows people who
committed serious crimes to walk free based on politics. It propagates a culture
of selective justice that Libyans fought so hard to overcome".

Holding accountable all those responsible for serious violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law is critical for the new Libya to
be based on the rule of law, Human Rights Watch said.
However, Human Rights Watch issued a cautious welcome to another part of Law 38,
which aims to address the serious problem arbitrary detention of suspected
former Qaddafi loyalists and others held by militias across the country. Law 38
says the Ministries of Interior and Defence must refer all "supporters of the
former regime" currently detained by militias, if there is sufficient evidence
against them, to the competent judicial authorities by 1
July.

Numerous reports by the United Nations and others have
documented incidences of torture and abuse of detainees in these facilities, and
noted that the accused do not have access to the rule of law.

Last month, an investigation was launched into the death of three prisoners
under the control of the Misrata Supreme Security Committee, as well as the
alleged torture of several others. Last October, at least 53 people were
apparently executed without trial in Qaddafi's former hometown of Sirte.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has also alleged that the expulsion of some 30,000
people from the town of Tawergha, who are accused of rape, murder and looting
whilst fighting for Qaddafi by their Misratan opponents, could amount to a crime
against humanity.

"Tasking the ministries with processing the militias' detainees within two
months is a positive step to address a serious ongoing problem," Stork said.
"But giving a pass to people responsible for serious crimes will foster a
culture of impunity that encourages further abuse."

The law also
states that even if a court acquits a person who was detained by a militia, that
person has no right to initiate a criminal or civil complaint against the state
or the militia, unless the detention was based on "fabricated or mendacious"
allegations. The right of recourse for people who have been wrongly detained and
acquitted should not be nullified, Human Rights Watch said.

Law 38 also allows the government to restrict a person's movement, impose a
fine, or detain a person up to two months if they are considered a "threat to
public security or stability" based on their "previous actions or affiliation
with an official or unofficial apparatus or tool of the former regime." Affected
individuals may challenge the measures before a judge.

Human Rights
Watch said that such restrictions on people considered a threat to security
should be based on concrete evidence of wrongdoing rather than on past
affiliations. Such wrongdoing should be prosecuted under the criminal law rather
than vague and open-ended powers to detain people as "threats to
security."

The law also appears to violate Libya's Constituent
Covenant for the Transitional Period, which states that all Libyans are "equal
before the law" and that they enjoy equal "civil and political rights." It says
that all citizens shall have the same opportunities and are subject to the same
public duties and obligations, without any distinction based on political
beliefs.

The presence of police and mobile brigade soldiers at construction sites
for the PNG LNG (liquefied natural gas) project in Papua New Guinea --
majority owned by Exxon Mobil -- is an indication of the community
discontent surrounding the project.

Fears have been raised that conflict over the project could provoke
violence like that of Bougainville in the 1990s.
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/51021

--
"Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is humanity's
original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made,
through disobedience and through rebellion." -- Oscar Wilde, Soul of Man
Under Socialism

"The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?" -- Jarvis Cocker


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

What's new at Links: Greece, Grecia, Buzgalin on Russia, Thailand,
Britain, Free climate change prisoners in Pakistan, Socialism,

* * *
Subscribe free to Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal -
at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373

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http://twitter.com/LinksSocialism or on Facebook at
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(http://links.org.au/rss.xml). If you would like us to consider an
article, please send it to linkssocialism@...

*Please pass on to anybody you think will be interested in Links.

* * *


     Greece: What prospects for a SYRIZA-led left government?
     <http://links.org.au/node/2861>

*For more analysis of politics in Greece, click HERE. *
<http://links.org.au/taxonomy/term/140>

     STOP PRESS, May 13, 2012 -- In the wake of the failure of the three
     first-placed parties to secure a parliamentary majority, it is
     almost certain that a new election will be held. New opinion polls
     released May 12 show that support for Greece's austerity parties
     continues to drop, while the radical left SYRIZA has increased its
     vote since the May 6 elections, and is now Greece's most popular
     party. According to a poll by Kapa Research, SYRIZA Coalition of
     Radical Left would receive 20.5% of votes, 3.7% higher than May 6.
     Support for New Democracy fell to 18.1% from 18.85% in the
     elections, while PASOK would receive 12.2%, down from 13.2%. Support
     for the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party fell to 5.8% from 7%, above the
     3% threshold needed to enter parliament. The right-wing Independent
     Greeks was on 8.4%, while support for the Democratic Left party is
     on 5% and the KKE 6.5%. Another opinion poll published May 12 showed
     SYRIZA on 25.5% if elections were held now.

* * *

By *Christos Kefalis*, Athens
May 10, 2012 -- The parliamentary elections of May 6 have produced a
sensational result, opening a new chapter in the political history of
Greece. It will have important repercussions on the European political
situation as well.

   * Read more <http://links.org.au/node/2861>


     'Towards a Socialist Australia' <http://links.org.au/node/2855>

May 5, 2012 --The following document,/Towards a Socialist Australia,
/was adopted as a discussion draft by the 8th national conference of the
Socialist Alliance, held in Sydney, January 20-22, 2012.

   * Read more <http://links.org.au/node/2855>


     Grecia: las perspectivas de un gobierno de SYRIZA
     <http://links.org.au/node/2862>

Por *Christos Kefalis*

13/5/2012  -- Las elecciones legislativas del 6 de mayo han producido un
resultado sensacional, abriendo un nuevo cap�tulo en la historia
pol�tica de Grecia. Asimismo, repercutir�n significativamente en la
situaci�n pol�tica europea.

   * Read more <http://links.org.au/node/2862>


     Aleksandr Buzgalin on Russia's 'Jurassic capitalism
     <http://links.org.au/node/2860>

   * Read more <http://links.org.au/node/2860>


     ?? ?????????? ??? ????????? ??????? ??? ?? ????????? ?????????? ????
     ?????? <http://links.org.au/node/2859>

??? *??????? ??????**

?? ????????? ??????? ??? 6?? ??? ????????? ??? ?????????????,
??????????? ?????????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ??? ???????? ????
???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ?????????? ?????? ??????????
???? ????????? ?????????. ?? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????
????????? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ?????????
???????? ??? ?????????????.

   * Read more <http://links.org.au/node/2859>


     Thailand: Who killed Aa-Kong (Ah Kong)? <http://links.org.au/node/2858>

By *Giles Ji Ungpakorn*
May 9, 2012 -- /Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal
<http://links.org.au/node/2858> /-- The death in prison of the poor
odd-job man Aa-Kong (also known as Ah Kong) is an outrage and it is yet
another indication of the barbarity of the l�se majest� law, the
injustice of the Thai legal system and the brutality of the Thai ruling
class. T

   * Read more <http://links.org.au/node/2858>


     (Updated May 8) Greece: Austerity parties smashed, radical left
     makes big gains <http://links.org.au/node/2857>

By *Yiorgos Vassalos*

May 7, 2012 -- The parties that have ruled the country since the end of
the military dictatorship in 1974 -- New Democracy (Nea Dimokratia) and
the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) -- have collapsed in the May
6 parliamentary elections. In all elections since 1974 (except 1990-91)
one of these two parties was able to gain a clear majority in the
parliament and form governement, jointly scoring from 70% to 90% of the
vote. On May 6, their combined vote was 33%.

   * Read more <http://links.org.au/node/2857>


     Britain: Coalition government parties battered in local elections
     <http://links.org.au/node/2856>

May 6, 2012 -- The British Labour Party was clearly the big winner in
the May 3 local council elections. Although in London celebrity
politics, along with a nasty personalised campaign by the /Evening
Standard/, and divisions within the Labour Party, created a win for
Conservative Party's Boris Johnson, both the Conservative (Tory) and the
Liberal Democrat (Lib Dems) parties took a drubbing across the country
giving the Lib Dems the worst result in its history. This is clearly a
part of shift to the left and towards an anti-austerity stance, which is
evident elsewhere in Europe. This is the case in Greece, France and
Spain in particular -- though in Greece there is also the rise of the
far right.

   * Read more <http://links.org.au/node/2856>

* * *
Links seeks to promote the international exchange of information,
experience of struggle, theoretical analysis and views of political
strategy and tactics within the international left. It is a forum for
open and constructive dialogue between active socialists coming from
different political traditions. It seeks to bring together those in the
international left who are opposed to neoliberal economic and social
policies. It aims to promote the renewal of the socialist movement in
the wake of the collapse of the bureaucratic model of "actually existing
socialism" in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

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Follow Links on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LinksSocialism or on
Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10865397643



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In this letter to the president of the European Union's executive body,
written while SYRIZA was trying to form a government, Alexis Tsipras, its
leader of the coalition in parliament, repeats SYRIZA's determination to
rescind the austerity measures that have plunged Greece into an economic
depression.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/51028
--
�Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is humanity�s
original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made,
through disobedience and through rebellion.� � Oscar Wilde, Soul of Man
Under Socialism

�The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?� � Jarvis Cocker


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

CLIMATE AND CAPITALISM

An ecosocialist journal
Edited by Ian Angus

http://climateandcapitalism.com
++++++++++++++

New articles, May 14, 2012

BOOK REVIEW: �DEEP GREEN RESISTANCE�
� HOW NOT TO BUILD A MOVEMENT
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/10/deep-green-resistance-a-path-to-certa\
in-defeat/
Eugene V. Debs: �It is not because these tactics involve the use of
force that I am opposed to them, but because they do not�."

GATEWAY PIPELINE THREATENS OUR WAY OF LIFE
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/08/gateway-pipeline-threatens-our-way-of\
-life/
From a First Nations perspective, it doesn't matter whether we stand
on the coast of B.C. or in the heart of the oil sands - our struggle
is largely one and the same. We don't want our lands, our rights, or
our people to be sidelined and destroyed by irresponsible development.

FOOD SOVEREIGNTY HAS A WOMAN�S FACE
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/08/why-food-production-has-the-face-of-a\
-woman/
Resolution from the First International Conference on Agro-ecology and
Food Sovereignty.

PEOPLES OF THE WORLD AGAINST THE COMMODIFICATION OF NATURE
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/08/peoples-of-the-world-against-the-comm\
odification-of-nature/
At the United Nations RIO+20 Conference, only the interests of the
large corporations will be considered so La Via Campesina calls on all
the peasant organizations of the world and their allies to organize
actions in June .

NGOS PLAN WEB �BLACKOUT� TO PROTEST CANADIAN GOVERNMENT ATTACKS ON
NATURE AND DEMOCRACY
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/07/canadian-ngos-condemn-government-atta\
ck-on-nature-and-democracy/
Eleven environmental organizations have announced a 'Black Out Speak
Out' campaign to counter Canadian government efforts to silence
opponents of its anti-nature policies

+++++++++++++++++++
Other recent articles

BOOK REVIEW:
WHAT ENVIRONMENTALISTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CAPITALISM
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/05/what-environmentalist-needs-to-know/

REVOLUTIONIZING PRODUCTION, FOR HUMANITY AND THE WORLD
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/04/revolutionizing-production-for-humani\
ty-and-for-the-world/

URGENT APPEAL FOR BABA JAN, PRISONER OF CLIMATE CHANGE
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/03/urgent-appeal-for-baba-jan-prisoner-o\
f-climate-change/

�WHEN CIVILIZATIONS START TO DIE THEY GO INSANE�
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/05/02/welcome-to-the-asylu/

If
people must disagree with me, I'd appreciate it if they'd take issue with my
expressed views, not with  positions
they�ve decided I hold but which I mostly find quite objectionable.



I've never, for instance, "fantasized" about a "simon-pure
bourgeois democratic revolution" in Libya. No revolution is ever remotely
"pure". I've explained often that revolutions are messy things, full
of contradictions, and that the one in Libya has blemishes as grave as any.
Specifically, I've pointed to the crimes against Black Libyans and sub-Saharan
migrants.



Despite what Fred Feldman suggests, I don't regard these crimes as
"irrelevancies". Quite apart from the suffering of the victims � many
of whom didn't survive � the attacks have emerged as a serious political
liability
for the democratic forces in Libya, making it difficult for them to win
recognition internationally for the popular gains that have been achieved. And
as I've stressed, racism has an especially pernicious effect in dividing the
popular and working-class layers and distracting attention from the vital
political cleavages between rich and poor, exploiters and exploited.



Nor do I have a view, implied or otherwise, that "pure and simple
'bourgeois-democratic' revolution" is all that working people in Libya
need, or that "anti-capitalist elements are non-essential".
Marxist-Leninist that I am, I think workers in Libya need a proletarian
revolution and the construction of a workers' state. But since I'm not the
fantasist here, I've noted in various posts that proletarian revolution isn�t in
prospect for Libya in the near term, and almost certainly not for quite some
time to come. For one thing, proletarian revolution requires a highly
organised, politically advanced workers' movement. The Libyan labour movement,
in a country where Gaddafi outlawed meaningful union activity, is barely
embryonic.


The
most productive way of interpreting recent developments in Libya, it seems to
me, is within the classical framework of bourgeois-democratic revolution.
Democratic change, with the institutionalising of civil and political rights and
the construction of representative organs of rule, is likely to be salient in
the aspirations of the Libyan masses in the
immediate term.


This
situation doesn�t exclude anti-capitalist campaigning. Workers and poor won't
have abandoned the hope that the defeat of the dictatorship will mean they can
extract a better deal  from the boss. But concerted anti-capitalist struggles
are likely to
be fairly scant in the immediate future, and not simply because of the weakness
of organised labour. Anti-capitalist struggles require the
presence of grievances that direct popular anger against identifiably
capitalist actions and institutions. The main capitalists operating in the old
Libya were imperialist oil corporations, and on a lesser scale, the Gaddafi
family and its close allies. The Gaddafis have been smashed, and among the
masses who opposed the dictatorship, the imperialists are accorded at least a
grudging respect for having helped in the regime�s overthrow. The anti-Gaddafi
capitalists of places like Benghazi and Misrata, who also helped defeat the old
regime, aren�t broadly perceived as the enemy either.


That�s
all going to change, as the logic of global capitalism compels attacks on the
interests of the Libyan masses. Before long the imperialists and their local
bourgeois allies will start demanding sweeping privatisations. I�ve argued
before that the mass of people who put their lives on the line to end the
tyranny and exploitation of the Gaddafi family won�t respond well to the
demands of a slightly altered line-up of exploiters to be allowed to alienate
the national wealth.


Opponents
of capitalism in Libya need to bluntly explain what the imperialists and their
local friends have in mind. But it would be a mistake to expect that masses of
the population will respond promptly to these arguments by flocking into
anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist struggles. For this to happen, the enemies of
the people will first need to play their hand, showing in practice what their
real intentions are.


This
implies that in Libya, a substantial degree of power will remain for the
present with the bureaucratic-bourgeois elite, currently trying to restore its
position through effecting a stand-off with the masses based on the setting up
of organs of representative rule and the conceding of mass political rights. In
material-political terms, this is the basis for the present,
bourgeois-democratic stage of the Libyan revolution.


To
digress briefly, there�s absolutely nothing un-Marxist about the idea of a
revolutionary process having a distinct bourgeois stage. In the Marxian view,
history doesn�t unfold in linear fashion. Class and material factors come
together
that allow particular social and political processes to work themselves
through, in periods that can seem deceptively stable. Nevertheless, new forces
are accumulating, and new dialectical leaps are being prepared.


In
the case of Libya, attempts to artificially circumvent the present,
bourgeois-democratic
stage will almost certainly fail, since its material basis is real, even if
transient. Further, this stage corresponds to the existing consciousness of the
Libyan popular masses. This consciousness will not be transformed by voluntarist
initiatives, but only as the necessities of capital lead the elite to attack
the masses and their gains.



Marx and Lenin wouldn't have thought this analysis conservative, or
un-revolutionary;
they made rather similar analyses themselves. Both freely accepted the
likelihood of bourgeois-democratic interludes. Both were emphatic that compared
to an absolutist dictatorship, even an imperfect bourgeois democracy
represented an advance for workers. By conceding a range of popular rights, such
a regime improves the terms on which workers and other progressive layers can
organise, propagandise, and in general build and educate their forces.



Making revolution, of course, is very much about knowing what to DO at
different points in an evolving struggle. As I�ve suggested, the tasks of
Marxist revolutionaries in Libya include warning relentlessly that imperialism
and the local bureaucratic-bourgeois elite are not to be trusted; are never
more than fleetingly on the side of the masses; concede democratic rights only
with a view to taking them back again; and are itching to seize for themselves
assets
such as the country�s national oil company.


That�s
propaganda � what about action? Chances to engage in direct anti-capitalist
struggle, such as labour strikes, are golden and must be seized with both
hands. But for the most part, the tasks of Marxists will flow from the nature
of the period, and will consist in helping the Libyan masses to make the most
radical, popular democratic revolution possible, taking a maximum of power away
from the bourgeoisie and its institutions.


Here
the weakness of the Libyan capitalist class, resulting in its inability to
construct an effective state apparatus, is a factor that cuts both ways so far
as the masses are concerned. Bandits and racist thugs are able to prey on the
population and in particular, on some of its most vulnerable members.


On
the other hand, the elite lacks the monopoly of armed force needed to impose
its will when and as the masses decide that their interests are different from
those of the capitalists, and should prevail. Hundreds of thousands of Libyans
have direct experience of armed liberation struggle. Substantial numbers have
kept their weapons and to one degree or another, retain their military
organisation.


The
American revolutionaries of the late eighteenth century insisted that for a
democratic revolution to defend itself, a well-regulated citizens� militia was
a priceless asset. �Well-regulated� is a crucial phrase here, and today�s
popular armed power in Libya is anything but. That doesn�t, though, alter the
fact that the most radical, popular democratic revolution possible has to be
one that includes the ability of the people to counterpose their armed force to
that of bandits and thugs at all levels, including at the level of executive
suites and government offices.


Constructing
this armed guarantee of popular democracy in Libya poses a complex, exacting
political task. But none of us pretends that making revolution is simple or
easy.

  To: GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com
From: ffeldman@...
Date: Tue, 8 May 2012 10:54:40 -0400
Subject: [GreenLeft_discussion] Libya gov bans  "glorification or praise" of
Gadhafi  regime


























       Introductory comments to news article -- a response to Renfrew:



Renfrew says that the current Libya regime(s) is/are carrying out a

simon-pure "bourgeois democratic revolution" in which anti-capitalist or

reactionary characteristics are completely non-essential. To understand the

progressive character of this exclusively "bourgeois-democratic revolution",

one must leave aside irrelevancies like the persecution, jailing, driving

out, enslavement, and all-around persecution of the Black immigrant workers.



Renfrew suggests that these problems stem from the personal, purely

ideological racism and prejudice of "some" anti-Gadhafi rebels. This is a

denial of plain reality.



It is a fact that Gadhafi made indefensible racist arguments -- spurring

fears of a black Europe (goddess speed the day) to extort aid from

imperialist powers to block emigration from Libya. But it is just as true

that the oppression of Black people -- immigrants or "citizens" -- has

radically increased since the triumph of the "bourgeois-democratic

revolution."



Of course, we card-carrying members of the "world community" know for sure

that Gadhafi was a super-monster, Libya's Hitler. How do we know? We read it

in the Daily News!



From this standpoint, it may seem only natural that all Libyans should be

forbidden to say otherwise.



Will Renfrew place the pre-election outlawing of any expression of ide suc

support for the Gadhafi regime and any of its acts in this irrelevant

category? I genuinely hope not.



I am pretty sure assuming Libya survives the current "bourgeois democratic"

counter-revolution as a nation, which is touch and go at the moment) that

Gadhafi is more likely to be remembered in Libya, despite very real crimes,

as the country's Peron (who was also no angel) rather than its Hitler.



And this is likely to be reinforced especially as effective resistance

develops to the current wave of reaction in the country. Of course, there is

already resistance, still weak and largely unorganized. This bizarre

legislation would not be necessary otherwise.



I disagree with Renfrew's implied view that pure and simple "bourgeois

democratic" revolution is the need of the hour in the current "Arab Spring"

think the stakes are much higher, and that fear of revolutionary processes

that go way beyond bourgeois democracy drives the ferocious aggression of

the imperialist resistance to this revolutionary process, an attack which

they try to pass off as participation -- "responsibility to protect."



I actually don't think that the simon-pure bourgeois-democratic revolution

that Renfrew fantasizes about is on the agenda in any country in the world

today -- not even in the United States, where bourgeois democracy is

currently in VERY bad shape.



Is it a coincidence that the US, where bourgeois democracy accumulates ever

more totalitarian features, is the leading country that dictates

"bourgeois-demcratic revolution" with war threats and actual wars -- to

countries like Libya, Syria, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and China (to name only a

few). Shouldn't tnis make leftists more suspicious than some of them have

been of late about "wars for democracy"?



Does Renfrew understand the potential scope of what a ban on agreeing with

anything Gadhafi did or said is intended to have on the political discourse

in the election? It's like a US election that outlawed anything that

disagreed with the Tea Party. (I am speaking as someone who has never

supported Barack Obama, the imperialist rulers, preferred candidate in the

upcoming, hopelessly corrupt bourgeois-democratic election.)



Will the regime openly stick with this seemingly bizarre (but actually quite

rational law, which not even the current US Supreme Cour could rationalize

upholding? I am not sure. It is quite possible that H. Clinton, Cameron, and

the like will convince the regime to over their wildly-exposed asses and

drop this. But that will not change the reactionary course this reflects.



Why does the current regime(s) expose itself in this crude way? Because

there is nothing even dimly resembling unanimity in the country about

Gadhafi. To this day he remains a more popular figure than, for example,

Assad in Syria, whose "popular support" consists primarily of large numbers

of people who, not without justification, fear the consequences of his fall

to the US-Nato-Saudi offensive and their Syrian clients.



Renfrew, like others who share his views, likes to denounce those of us who

disagree, as "apologists" for Assad or Gadhafi. There may be an element of

truth here in some cases, but it is ultimately just a form of baiting that

is used to prevent democratic-minded people (like Renfrew himself) from

coming to grips what was and is really at stake in Libya.



Of course, this requires denying that there can be such a thing as

apologists for the current "revolutionary" Libyan regime. And yet, that is

the role that Renfrew has consistently played (along with Louis Proyect and

his so-called Marxism List -- where Renfrew's contributions to the GreenLeft

list are regularly published -- the journalist Craig Claiborne (a Proyect

favorite and recent recruit  to his list, and some other leftists).



I hope that Renfrew will find the political strength to get off this

reactionary bandwagon. I really sense and even more deeply hope, that at

heart is he is an odd man out in this, to put it brutally but truly,

social-imperialist development within the left.

Fred Feldman



http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/05/02/211784.html

May 02, 2012 20:45 pm (KSA) 17:45 pm (GMT)

Libya bans 'glorification' of Qaddafi, drops bar on religious parties

Wednesday, 02 May 2012



Libya's ruling National Transitional Council has banned the glorification of

Muammar Qaddafi, his regime, his ideas or his sons. (File photo)

inShare.1By AL ARABIYA WITH AFP



Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) on Wednesday criminalized

the glorification of slain leader Muammar Qaddafi and his regime, while also

deciding to drop a controversial ban against religious parties ahead of the

constituent assembly election.



"Praising or glorifying Muammar Qaddafi, his regime, his ideas or his

sons... is punishable by a prison sentence," said the text of the law read

out to reporters by a judicial official following a high-level meeting.



"If those news, rumors or propaganda cause any damage to the state the

penalty will be life in prison," the official said reading from the text of

the new law.



The law also criminalizes spreading rumors or information that could hamper

military activities, spread terror, or weaken the morale of citizens.



Meanwhile, the NTC dropped a ban against parties organized along religious,

regional, tribal or ethnic lines.



Members of the NTC judicial committee on Wednesday read out an amended

version of its law governing the formation of political parties, making no

mention of the ban.



"The ban had been announced (on April 24) to test public reactions," an NTC

member said in reference to the earlier version which had come under fire

from Islamists and federalists.



Political organizations of any kind were banned for decades under the

iron-fisted rule of Muammar Qaddafi, who was toppled and killed in last

year's popular uprising.



The NTC scrapped legislation outlawing political associations in January.



Dozens of parties have launched since then with the intention of contesting

the constituent assembly election that the NTC has pledged to organize by

June 19.



The NTC has already stated that the country will be run in accordance with

Sharia, or Islamic law, but its exact place in the legal system is yet to be

determined as a new constitution will be put together after elections.



Islamist parties have shown strong performances in post-uprising elections

in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco.


















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Come on, Adam. How, concretely, have we in SA subordinated ourselves to
un-socialist politics? Where are the cosy deals we've struck, the fights we've
sold out?

I don't remember now whether the key instigator of Left Unity in Adelaide was a
Green or an ex-Green at the time when he broached the initiative. It doesn't
particularly matter; several other Left Unity activists were Greens at the time
and remain so now. All were members of a tendency within the Greens consisting
of people who had a history in the left and a commitment to class struggle, and
were fed up with the more-or-less exclusive focus of the Greens in this state on
parliamentary activity.

Personally, I can't see any point in class-struggle militants remaining in the
Greens, but it's their contradiction. Meanwhile, the best of the people involved
are mainstays of Left Unity, and as committed to the class as any of the rest of
us.

Is the fact that there are members of the Greens who want to join with us in
fighting the boss some sort of problem for SA?

Renfrey

To: GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com
From: eastwest3173@...
Date: Sun, 13 May 2012 14:12:45 +0000
Subject: [GreenLeft_discussion] Re: Draft document: 'Towards a Socialist
Australia' now available online.


























       Dave writes:



> In regard to 'left unity' options as far as I know the Adelaide initiative was
instigated by members of the Greens... that's hardly to Adam's taste I know: but
then if he wants to get something going in like mode --albeit only with
certified Marxists --  I'm  sure there is a willing partner in the Alliance.



I'm not sure about the Greens instigating Left Unity in Adelaide. Weren't they
ex-Greens, or at least disenchanted Greens?

>

> So go  for it: do it -- go talk up the option with SAlt or whoever and propose
something concrete -- get something  happening that is a creative option to the
SA's purported "one way".

>

> Again I ask: do you seriously think that the Alliance will oppose or pass on 
ANY left unity initiative?



Probably not - but SA is only interested in it's model of "left unity" - a model
which includes unity with social-democrats, Greens, greens, libertarians,
anarchists and all types. This is not left unity as it should be understood.
This is not socialist unity, let alone Marxist unity.



We in SA seem to believe that we have made a huge step forward for left unity if
we unite a socialist with a social-democrat. The socialist has to give way to
social-democratic politics on almost every point, but this is still understood
by us in SA as "left unity" and then we imagine that we are doing great things
for the movement for socialism. In reality, we are bleeding socialist politics
at every step, and subordinating it to the distinctly un-socialist politics of
the non-socialists we "unite" with.



An advance is only made if we unite with non-socialists *and then win them to
socialist political positions*. Our SA model does not allow us to do this - we
just leave the politics of non-socialists where they are, and then make
concession after concession after concession until we agree with the
non-socialist.



I have problems with the Marxism of SAlt, the RSP, the CPA, the SP and most
other left parties. But even with what we understand as their political
shortcomings, I contend that these parties are doing more to build socialism in
this country than we are in SA. Even a heavily distorted Marxism is better than
a Marxism which is kept as an academic study in the background, and not observed
in practice. In the left orgs which distort Marxism, it is nonetheless accepted
as a base. In our SA, we have to win arguments for Marxism before we can even
try to implement it. And in fact, the current structure of SA does not allow
Marxist positions to predominate lest we lose our more broad support.



Left unity is only a step forward if it is a unity based on Marxist positions.
Of course we need to "reach out", but once we have the ear of the masses, we
still have to win them to the Marxist program. Otherwise the "reach out" will be
wasted. We in SA not only need to "reach out" - we also need to "win over". If
we are not winning people over to socialism (and Marxism has to be a part of
this), we are not building socialism. This needs to be addressed before we have
ideas about left unity. At the moment, the RET suggests the best way to do this
is to form and build Marxist currents within SA, and let them be known outside
SA as well. This might encourage other left parties to join as currents to SA. A
discussion between Marxist currents inside and/or outside SA would then be a
very fruitful dialogue indeed - and a mighty advance over organisational unity
using very limited ideas of social justice.



Adam Baker


















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

HERMES (blog)

Obama and gay marriage
By Lázaro Fariñas* May 13, 2012

http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs3415.html
A CubaNews translation.  Edited by Walter Lippmann.

One of peoples worst qualities is their need to discriminate.  Who you are or
how much you deny it makes no difference: deep down, to a greater or lesser
extent, all human beings are discriminators.  We discriminate against others for
their sexual preference, race, ethnic group, body weight, intellectual capacity,
social status, age, school level, country of origin, and so on and so forth. 
What I mean by this is that, if we level with ourselves and do some
introspection, we'll find that at some point we have discriminated against
someone.

Maybe those that the Catholic Church has beatified have never harbored any
biased thoughts about anyone, although I truly doubt it, unless these saints
never were human in the first place.

Going through this worldly life without ever being prejudiced against any other
person is, at best, very difficult.  I think that finding someone who has never
discriminated against someone else amounts, as the Bible says, to finding a
needle in a haystack.

I was born and raised in a Cuban province where people could not be any more
racist than they were.  Back in my day, everything in that region of Cuba was
the object of discrimination.  Never mind that white and black people alike went
to the same public schools: we wouldn’t swim in the same rivers, or dance in
the same parties, or marry a girl of another color.  In my hometown, there was
one club for black people and two for us whites.  I’ve known everything about
racism and, therefore, I loathe it.

Fate has made me spend almost all my life in a society known to be highly
discriminatory.

During President Lyndon B. Johnson administration's in the 1960s, the Civil
Rights Act came into effect to give black people in this country a number of
rights, and I saw with my own eyes the ensuing outbreak of social unrest. 
Driving from New York to Miami with several Cubans –one of them black– we
witnessed the uprisings in the southern states.  The funny thing was that my
black fellow countryman had been until then a fervent supporter of the system
that prevailed in America then, until that moment in our trip when the scourge
put in an appearance and he came off worst, for he saw racism in action.

I’ve brought all of this up on account of President Barack Obama’s recent
statements in favor of gay marriage, which have triggered a huge fuss all over
the U.S. Why such a racket?  Isn't a person entitled to marry another of their
same sex?  Marriage is just a legal union of two persons, whether or not they
are of the same sex, race, social standing, and cultural and intellectual level.

No one should poke their nose into a couple's life as long as its members don't
commit a crime against anyone else.  How can making a relationship between two
human beings legal be a crime?

Gay marriage should be no less of a right than that of a woman to have an
abortion within the reasonable length of time taken by the embryonic stage of
her pregnancy, and no law should prevent that woman from putting an end to it if
she’s unwilling to deliver a child.  Why couldn't she?  Who are we to stop
her?  Who can really have such a legal authority?

President Obama has taken a courageous step in his political career.  A year ago
his stance on the matter was completely different but, according to his own
words, his thoughts have evolved since and he has come to the conclusion that
banning two people who love each other and share a relationship from making it
official so as to enjoy the same legal rights as straight couples was totally
reprehensible.  The political cost that Obama's decision can carry is anybody's
guess, but I'd dare say he will earn more votes than he will lose.  After all,
the main detractors of the President’s new turn are the ones who would never
give him theirs.

We must bear in mind that all the U.S. fascist right-wing die-hards want is to
keep lynching blacks, deporting immigrants and scorning homosexuals.

* Lázaro Fariñas is a Cuban journalist who lives in the United States.

=========================================
      WALTER LIPPMANN
      Los Angeles, California
      Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
      "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

The fact that there are Greens who want to join us at rallies is a
problem for conservatives among the Greens.  ...And it seems
conservatives among the marxists.
To me personally, and I believe to the bulk of comrades both within
Socialist Alliance and beyond it, the challenge is to increase the
number of activists among the Greens.

On 15/05/2012, Renfrey Clarke <renfreyclarke@...> wrote:
>
> Come on, Adam. How, concretely, have we in SA subordinated ourselves to
> un-socialist politics? Where are the cosy deals we've struck, the fights
> we've sold out?
>
> I don't remember now whether the key instigator of Left Unity in Adelaide
> was a Green or an ex-Green at the time when he broached the initiative. It
> doesn't particularly matter; several other Left Unity activists were Greens
> at the time and remain so now. All were members of a tendency within the
> Greens consisting of people who had a history in the left and a commitment
> to class struggle, and were fed up with the more-or-less exclusive focus of
> the Greens in this state on parliamentary activity.
>
> Personally, I can't see any point in class-struggle militants remaining in
> the Greens, but it's their contradiction. Meanwhile, the best of the people
> involved are mainstays of Left Unity, and as committed to the class as any
> of the rest of us.
>
> Is the fact that there are members of the Greens who want to join with us in
> fighting the boss some sort of problem for SA?
>
> Renfrey
>
> To: GreenLeft_discussion@yahoogroups.com
> From: eastwest3173@...
> Date: Sun, 13 May 2012 14:12:45 +0000
> Subject: [GreenLeft_discussion] Re: Draft document: 'Towards a Socialist
> Australia' now available online.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>       Dave writes:
>
>
>
>> In regard to 'left unity' options as far as I know the Adelaide initiative
>> was instigated by members of the Greens... that's hardly to Adam's taste I
>> know: but then if he wants to get something going in like mode --albeit
>> only with certified Marxists --  I'm  sure there is a willing partner in
>> the Alliance.
>
>
>
> I'm not sure about the Greens instigating Left Unity in Adelaide. Weren't
> they ex-Greens, or at least disenchanted Greens?
>
>>
>
>> So go  for it: do it -- go talk up the option with SAlt or whoever and
>> propose something concrete -- get something  happening that is a creative
>> option to the SA's purported "one way".
>
>>
>
>> Again I ask: do you seriously think that the Alliance will oppose or pass
>> on  ANY left unity initiative?
>
>
>
> Probably not - but SA is only interested in it's model of "left unity" - a
> model which includes unity with social-democrats, Greens, greens,
> libertarians, anarchists and all types. This is not left unity as it should
> be understood. This is not socialist unity, let alone Marxist unity.
>
>
>
> We in SA seem to believe that we have made a huge step forward for left
> unity if we unite a socialist with a social-democrat. The socialist has to
> give way to social-democratic politics on almost every point, but this is
> still understood by us in SA as "left unity" and then we imagine that we are
> doing great things for the movement for socialism. In reality, we are
> bleeding socialist politics at every step, and subordinating it to the
> distinctly un-socialist politics of the non-socialists we "unite" with.
>
>
>
> An advance is only made if we unite with non-socialists *and then win them
> to socialist political positions*. Our SA model does not allow us to do this
> - we just leave the politics of non-socialists where they are, and then make
> concession after concession after concession until we agree with the
> non-socialist.
>
>
>
> I have problems with the Marxism of SAlt, the RSP, the CPA, the SP and most
> other left parties. But even with what we understand as their political
> shortcomings, I contend that these parties are doing more to build socialism
> in this country than we are in SA. Even a heavily distorted Marxism is
> better than a Marxism which is kept as an academic study in the background,
> and not observed in practice. In the left orgs which distort Marxism, it is
> nonetheless accepted as a base. In our SA, we have to win arguments for
> Marxism before we can even try to implement it. And in fact, the current
> structure of SA does not allow Marxist positions to predominate lest we lose
> our more broad support.
>
>
>
> Left unity is only a step forward if it is a unity based on Marxist
> positions. Of course we need to "reach out", but once we have the ear of the
> masses, we still have to win them to the Marxist program. Otherwise the
> "reach out" will be wasted. We in SA not only need to "reach out" - we also
> need to "win over". If we are not winning people over to socialism (and
> Marxism has to be a part of this), we are not building socialism. This needs
> to be addressed before we have ideas about left unity. At the moment, the
> RET suggests the best way to do this is to form and build Marxist currents
> within SA, and let them be known outside SA as well. This might encourage
> other left parties to join as currents to SA. A discussion between Marxist
> currents inside and/or outside SA would then be a very fruitful dialogue
> indeed - and a mighty advance over organisational unity using very limited
> ideas of social justice.
>
>
>
> Adam Baker
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Green Left Weekly depends on your support!
>
> Subscribe to Green Left Weekly!
> http://www.greenleft.org.au/subscribe.htm
>
> Make a donation to help Green Left Weekly continue!
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>
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>
>
>
>


--
For humanity, ecology, & socialism,
Luke Weyland

http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/10-05-09-cuba-declared-best-place-to-b\
e.html

--
�Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is humanity�s
original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made,
through disobedience and through rebellion.� � Oscar Wilde, Soul of Man
Under Socialism

�The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?� � Jarvis Cocker


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Newsletter date: 15 May 2012

This newsletter:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/15/wgar-news-upcoming-aboriginal-rights-events-a\
round-australia-32-events-from-15-may-2012

Upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia
- 32 events from 15 May 2012

Click on the links for details of the events ...

Event: Wed 16 May 2012:
Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane
National Day of Action
in solidarity with the people of Broome
"250 police have converged on Broome, Western Australia,
as the WA Government attempts to crush peaceful
community opposition to a proposed industrial complex
at James Price Point on the pristine Kimberley coast."
Event details: [scroll down page]
http://www.kimberleycampaigner.com/stories/national-mobilisation-of-kimberley-co\
mmunity/
News & MR:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/14/police-amassing-at-james-price-point-monday-m\
ay-14-after-yesterdays-600-people-power-peac
News:
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/wa-premier-sends-150-police-help-dest\
roy-walmadan-culturally-significant-site
News:
http://www.theage.com.au/wa-news/hundreds-face-off-with-police-in-broome-2012051\
3-1ykhm.html
Kimberley Campaigner: http://www.kimberleycampaigner.com/
Save The Kimberley: http://www.savethekimberley.com/

Event: Wed 16 May 2012: Melbourne City, Vic
Save the Kimberley solidarity protest
"We have received Reports of more than 100
police arriving in Broome, their intentions
look to be to crush the Broome community�s
peaceful protest and dismantle all blockade
capabilities. ... "
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/save-the-kimberley-solidarity-protest
News & MR:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/14/police-amassing-at-james-price-point-monday-m\
ay-14-after-yesterdays-600-people-power-peac
News:
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/wa-premier-sends-150-police-help-dest\
roy-walmadan-culturally-significant-site
News:
http://www.theage.com.au/wa-news/hundreds-face-off-with-police-in-broome-2012051\
3-1ykhm.html
Kimberley Campaigner: http://www.kimberleycampaigner.com/
Save The Kimberley: http://www.savethekimberley.com/

Event: 16 May 2012: Coburg, Melbourne, Vic
Our Generation film screening
Organised by the Revolutionary Socialist Party
Event details:
http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/screenings/16-may-2012-coburg-vic
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: 17 May 2012: Narrabri, NSW
Our Generation film screening
A Friends Flicks Film Society Screening
Event details:
http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/screenings/17-may-2012-narrabri-nsw
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: Fri 18 May 2012: Perth, WA
Lizard's Revenge: a dinner and talk
"Lizard's Revenge will be a three day blockade and
music/arts festival at the Olympic Dam uranium
mine in South Australia."
"Join BUMP and the unnamed collective to hear
about the plans for Olympic Dam and the current
Court Challenge by Arabunna elder Uncle Kevin."
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/lizards-revenge-a-dinner-and-talk
[See Event: 14 to 18 (or 20) July 2012: Olympic Dam, SA below:
Lizards Revenge Music/Art Festival protest]

Event: Sat 19 May 2012: to Canberra, ACT
The Long Walk 2012
"Join Michael Long at the community celebration (2-6pm)
before The Long Walk to Dreamtime at the 'G.
The annual commemoration of his historic walk to
Canberrra is now a popular celebration of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement ... "
Event details:
http://www.thelongwalk.com.au/News-Events/Upcoming-Events/The-Long-Walk-2012---M\
elbourne
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/50962

Event: 20 May 2012: Bondi Beach, Sydney, NSW
Our Generation film screening
Welcome to Country by a local Community Elder
Q&A with special guest speaker Nicole Watson
Event details:
http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/screenings/20-may-2012-bondi-sydney-nsw
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: Wed 23 and Thu 24 May 2012: Wollongong, south of Sydney
Interim National Unity Government Assembly
of the Sovereign Union
Held at two locations:
Day 1 � Innovation Campus, University of Wollongong
Day 2 � Sandon Point Aboriginal Embassy
"All Aboriginal nations are being called on to send two
delegates - one man and one woman (if appropriate) to the
inaugural assembly of the Sovereign Union interim National
Unity Government in Wollongong Wednesday 23 & Thursday 24
May. ... "
""This gathering to form the Interim Sovereign Union National
Unity Government is so important, as the federal government
and their Uncle Tom collaborators are working overtime to
indoctrinate our children and youth into their way of
thinking by falsely promoting that recognition in the
Constitution will give our people something,"
the spokesman of the movement, Michael Anderson, writes in
a media release. ... "
"On the first day two universities, Southern Cross and
Wollongong law faculties will host a law symposium to
discuss the continuing sovereignty of Aboriginal Peoples as
an introduction to this history-making event."
"On Day 2, at Sandon Point Embassy REGISTRATION is at 8am
for the inaugural assembly of the Sovereign Union interim
National Unity Government."
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/49
See next two entries for Day 1 and Day 2 event details

Event: DAY 1 Wed 23 May 2012: Wollongong, NSW
Litigating the Boundaries of Sovereignty
- Symposium Day 1
Location: Innovation Campus, University of Wollongong
Jointly organised by:
* Legal Intersections Research Centre, University of Wollongong
* School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University
"On 26 January 2012, on the day of the 40th anniversary of
the establishment Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, a
number of prominent Aboriginal activists advanced an
articulated claim to the continuity of Aboriginal
sovereignty in Australia. ... [This is] a one-day workshop to
explore the legal and political implications of those claims."
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/85
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/49
Sovereign Union � National Unity Government:
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/

Event: DAY 2 - Thu 24 May 2012: Wollongong, NSW
Formal establishment of interim
National Unity Government of the Sovereign Union
"8am till late � REGISTRATION at 8am
Venue: Sandon Point Embassy, Wollongong, NSW"
"All Aboriginal nations are being called on to send two delegates
- one man and one woman (if appropriate)
to the inaugural assembly of the Sovereign Union
interim National Unity Government
If possible bring a young person(s) between 15 & 25.
Each nation will have a limit of two official delegates
to the interim National Unity Government."
"+++ Draft Agenda +++:
* The formal establishment of the interim
National Unity Government of the Sovereign Union
* Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Aboriginal nations
* Focusing on the proposed new Constitution
* Program of stages towards independence and timeline
* Allocation of interim portfolios
* Development of diplomatic and international relations
* Strategies for representations in United Nations"
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/108
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/49
Sovereign Union � National Unity Government:
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/

Event: Thu 24 May 2012: Rozelle, Sydney, NSW
Our Generation Film Screening & Photography Exhibition
Hosted by Amnesty Intl NSW Demand Dignity AG
& Tali Gallery
With special guest speaker Graeme Mundine
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/nsw/event/28567/
Event details:
http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/screenings/24-may-2012-rozelle-nsw
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: Fri 25 May 2012: Canberra, ACT
National Sorry Day Bridge Walk
Commonwealth Avenue Bridge Canberra
* 10.30am - Gather at Regatta Point
* 10.40 - Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony
* 11.00am - Start Bridge Walk
* 11.30am - Wiradjuri Echoes and Lunch
RSVP (required if staying for lunch)
National Sorry Day Committee in collaboration with
ACT Government Health,
Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service,
and Reconciliation Australia
Event details: [scroll down page]
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/events/index.html#may
NSDC: http://www.nsdc.org.au/

Event: Fri 25 May 2012: Hyde Park South, Sydney, NSW
Indigenous Veterans Memorial:
Commemoration Service Honouring Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Servicemen and Servicewomen
Event details:
http://www.nswreconciliation.org.au/events-1/indigenous-veterans-memorial

Event: Fri 4 - Sat 26 May 2012: Rozelle, Sydney, NSW
Art Creation in Remote Aboriginal Communities
Official Opening: Fri 4 May 2012
Tali Gallery
"This is a group show consisting of photographs from
Aboriginal art communities throughout Australia. It
showcases the Inspiration, Dedication, Humour, Happiness,
Esteem and Pride associated with art creation in the
Australian desert and bush where this is often the only
source of employment for Aboriginal people."
Art curators, Artists and Yolngu Media Graduates
from Remote Aboriginal Communities
Event details: http://headon.com.au/event/tali-gallery-work-art
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/nsw/event/28566/
Article: [scroll down page]
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/picture-a-world-of-observatio\
n-and-invention-20120501-1xwx3.html

Event: 4 May - 8 July 2012: Circular Quay, Sydney, NSW
Manuwangku, Under the Nuclear Cloud
Photographs by Jagath Dheerasekara
Curated by Sandy Edwards
Head On Photo Festival
""The photographs are excellent. They are a moving
portrayal of Aboriginal Australia that all Australians
aught to know about on an issue that wont go away."
- John Pilger, Writer and Filmmaker, January 2012"
Event details:
http://jagathdeerasekera.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/manuwangku-under-nuclear-cloud.\
html
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/nsw/event/28595/
Event details: [scroll down page]
http://sydneyartgalleriesandartcommunity.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/openings-and-t\
he-arts-in-sydney-30042012-06052012/
Article: [scroll down page]
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/picture-a-world-of-observatio\
n-and-invention-20120501-1xwx3.html

Event: Sat 26 May 2012: Bankstown, Sydney, NSW
Seminar for unionists and community members:
Stop Government Income Management
in Bankstown & everywhere
" ... aimed at workers who will be caught up
implementing Income Management in
Bankstown, as well as other unionists."
Event details: http://www.stoptheintervention.org/#May2012
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/50999
Union campaign letter of 16 Apr 12:
http://stoptheintervention.org/uploads/files_to_download/Past%20Events/Campaign-\
Let-Bankstown-IM-Apr-12.pdf
Background:
http://www.solidarity.net.au/44/bankstown-basicscard-campaign-reaches-out-to-uni\
onists/
Background: http://www.sayno2gim.info/
Background: http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/income-management

Event: 11 February 2012 to 26 May 2012: South Bank, Brisbane, Qld
Exhibition: From Little Things Big Things Grow
- Fighting for Indigenous Rights 1920-1970
Event description:
http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/
Event location:
http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/travelling_\
details/

Event: Sun 27 May - Sun 3 June 2012: various locations
National Reconciliation Week 2012
- Let�s talk recognition
"Each year National Reconciliation Week (NRW) celebrates
the rich culture and history of the First Australians.
It is the ideal time for everyone to join the reconciliation
conversation and to think about how we can help turn
around the disadvantage experienced by many
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."
Event details:
http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/get-involved/national-reconciliation-week
Event details:
http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/get-involved/events/events-calendar
Event details: [scroll down page]
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/events/index.html#may

Event: Sun 27 May 2012: Narrabeen, NSW
ASG Sorry Day 2012
Remembrance Walk
Aboriginal Support Group - Manly Warringah Pittwater
Event details: http://www.asgmwp.net/SorryDay2012.pdf
Event details: http://www.asgmwp.net/Calendar.htm
Event details: [scroll down page] http://www.asgmwp.net/index.htm

Event: 29 May 2012: Sydney Uni, NSW
Our Generation Film Screening
National Reconciliation Week
Followed by a guest speaker on �Reconciliation�
Event details:
http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/screenings/29-may-2012-sydney-nsw
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: 9.30pm, 30 May 2012: Various locations
'Our Generation' to broadcast on NITV
"National Indigenous Television (NITV)
is available on the following channels,
depending on your location and setup: ... "
Event details:
http://ourgeneration.org.au/news/our-generation-broadcast-nitv
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: Thu 31 May 2012: Sydney, NSW
I'm Not Racist, But
"To further stimulate conversations about racism in
Australia, the NSW Reconciliation Council has
pulled together a panel of diverse Australians
who all have something to say.
You can have your say too, ... "
Hosted by ABC's Steve Cannane
Join:
* Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr. Helen Szoke,
* Fear of a Brown Planet's Nazeem Hussain,
* UN Youth Ambassador, Benson Saulo and
* comedian Jennifer Wong
Event details:
http://www.nswreconciliation.org.au/events-1/im-not-racist-but-1

Event: Fri 1 June 2012: Marrickville, Sydney, NSW
Lizard Rising Sydney Fundraiser
"Another wild night in preparation for the
Lizards Revenge global emergency
$10 entry toward the Rollen Blockade of
BHP Billitons Olympic Dam expansion"
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/lizard-rising-sydney-fundraiser
[See Event: 14 to 18 (or 20) July 2012: Olympic Dam, SA below:
Lizards Revenge Music/Art Festival protest]

Event: Fri 1 to Sun 3 June 2012: Upwey, Melbourne, Vic
"Memories - contact with white people"
Exhibition, talks, films and workshops at Burrinja
Burrinja community cultural centre
Coinciding with National Reconciliation Week
* Exhibition of artworks from the Burrinja Collection:
4 May - 24 June 2012
* Indigenous Film Night:
Fri 1 June 2012
* In Words: Eileen Harrison and Carolyn Landon:
Sat 2nd June 2012
* In Conversation: Bruce Pascoe and Bill Gammage:
Sun 3rd June 2012
Event details:
http://indymedia.org.au/memories-contact-with-white-people-exhibition-talks-film\
s-and-workshops-at-burrinja
Event details: [scroll down page]
http://www.burrinja.org.au/index.php/burrinja-whats-on/whatson

Event: 2 to 3 June 2012: Townsville, Qld
Townsville Reconciliation Festival
Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Mabo high Court Decision
Event details:
http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/get-involved/events/events-calendar?event_\
id=461

Event: 10 June 2012: Myall Creek, west of Inverell, northern NSW
Myall Creek Memorial 2012
"The annual memorial commemoration ceremony is
for those who died in the Myall Creek massacre, ... "
Event details:
http://www.nswreconciliation.org.au/events-1/myall-creek-memorial-2012

Event: Fri 15 June 2012: Melbourne, Vic
Annual Human Rights Dinner
* Keynote speaker: Les Malezer,
Co-Chair, National Congress of Australia�s First Peoples and
Chairperson, Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research
Action
* Invitation from:
Human Rights Law Centre and the
Public Interest Law Clearing House
"Les is from the Butchulla/Gubbi Gubbi peoples in southeast
Queensland. He is recognised internationally for his
leading role in the development of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples. ... "
Event details:
http://www.hrlc.org.au/content/events/upcoming-events/annual-human-rights-dinner\
-2012/

Wed 27 June 2012: West Perth, WA
The Indigenous culture and heritage of WA�s
SouthWest forests - how do we protect it?
"Hear from Aboriginal spokespeople and Traditional
Owners about the cultural heritage values of forests,
including the plant and animal species that depend
on them."
"Hear from the Department of Environment and Conservation
about how they are planning to protect cultural values."
"Have your say about how cultural values should be
protected in our SouthWest forests."
Event details:
http://indymedia.org.au/the-indigenous-culture-and-heritage-of-wa%E2%80%99s-sout\
hwest-forests-how-do-we-protect-it

Event: Tue 3 - Fri 20 July 2012: Bendigo & Roxby Downs
Road Trip for Change
- Step Out(back) and Learn from Country
"In July the South Australian Student Environment Network
will be running a series of epic road trips that will take you
on a journey of learning from Adelaide to Australia�s
biggest grass roots Environment Conference:
Students of Sustainability (SoS), then via the great
SA outback to Roxby Downs for the
Lizards Revenge Music/Art festival."
Event details:
http://indymedia.org.au/road-trip-for-change-step-outback-and-learn-from-country
[See Event: 14 to 18 (or 20) July 2012: Olympic Dam, SA below:
Lizards Revenge Music/Art Festival protest]

Event: Mon 9 July 2012: Mona Vale, NSW
A Panel Discussion:
Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians
Will We Get it Right?
Aboriginal Support Group - Manly Warringah Pittwater
Event details: [scroll down page] http://www.asgmwp.net/SorryDay2012.pdf

Event: 14 to 18 (or 20) July 2012: Olympic Dam, SA
The Lizard's Revenge:
Olympic Dam expansion music/art/festival/protest
"Sleeping underneath the ground there is an old lizard,
Kalta the sleepy lizard. The lizard ain�t so sleepy anymore.
BHP is mining right into that Lizards body. The government
has just approved an expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium
mine, making it the biggest uranium mine in the world.
Kalta is angry and wants revenge.
Arabana elder Kevin Buzzacot is calling the people of the
world to help the lizard shut down the mine. He is calling
for people to come and heal the land in the name of peace
and justice for the next 10,000 generations to come."
Event details:
http://indymedia.org.au/the-lizards-revenge-olympic-dam-expansion-musicartfestiv\
alprotest
Background:
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2011/10/australia-approves-20-30bn-bhp-billitons-\
olympic-dam-mine-expansion/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/224524544273924
Website: http://lizardsrevenge.net/
Perth Event: Fri 18 May 2012:
http://indymedia.org.au/lizards-revenge-a-dinner-and-talk
Sydney Event: Fri 1 June 2012:
http://indymedia.org.au/lizard-rising-sydney-fundraiser
Road Trip for Change Tue 3 - Fri 20 July 2012:
http://indymedia.org.au/road-trip-for-change-step-outback-and-learn-from-country

Event: 14 July 2012: Manly, Sydney, NSW
Our Generation film screening
As part of Guringai Festival
Q&A with co-director/producer Damien Curtis
More details to come
Event details:
http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/screenings/14-july-2012-manly-sydney-nsw
Film info: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/about
See bottom of this page for Our Generation film reviews

Event: 11 August 2012: Melbourne City, Vic
2012 Winter Action:
Stop Aboriginal Death in Custody
Remember all who have died in custody
Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association
Event details: http://www.isja-msg.com/coming_events.htm

Event: 20 August to 14 September 2012: Yeelirrie-Leonora, WA
Walkatjurra Walkabout � Walking for Country
A one month walk from Yeelirrie to Leonora
" ... is a celebration of Wangkatja country, a testament to
the strength of the community who have fought to stop
uranium mining at Yeelirrie for over forty years, and a
chance to come together to continue share our commitment to
a sustainable future without nuclear. It is a chance to
reconnect with the land, and to revive the tradition of
walking for country."
"This walk will be lead by the Walkatjurra Rangers,
in partnership with Footprints for Peace,
Western Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (WANFA),
the Anti Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA)
and the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA)."
Event details: http://walkingforcountry.com/
Event details: http://www.nuclearfreefuture.com/
Event details: http://nffcampaign2011.footprintsforpeace.net/?p=69

Event: 10 November 2012: Melbourne City, Vic
2012 Spring Action:
Stop Aboriginal Death in Custody
Remember all who have died in custody
Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association
Event details: http://www.isja-msg.com/coming_events.htm

Event: 5-7 December 2012: Gold Coast, Qld
2012 National Indigenous Health Conference
Many Pathways, One Outcome
" ... is designed to bring together both government
and non-government agencies who are working
in the field of Indigenous health with the belief
that working together can close the gap between
the state of Indigenous Health as compared to
the health of mainstream Australians."
Event details: http://www.indigenoushealth.net/


- 'Our Generation' Film Reviews

Elimatta:
Aboriginal Support Group - Manly Warringah Pittwater:
Our Generation - Showing in London - page 8
http://www.asgmwp.net/ElimattaWinter2011.pdf
Winter 2011: "The Intervention is yet another example of
the appalling treatment the Aboriginal People of Australia
have been subjected to in such a short period of time
compared to thousands of years of survival. Sinem Saban and
Rev. Dr Gondarra supported by the Yolngu people and
cinematographer, Damien Curtis, have created a sensitive
and realistic view of the plight of those who wish to live
a more traditional life in their homelands and of those who
appear to be dispossessed." Christine Waterer

Elimatta:
Aboriginal Support Group - Manly Warringah Pittwater:
ASG Information Night: Our Generation - page 6
http://www.asgmwp.net/ElimattaSummer2010.pdf
Summer 2010: "Local resident and journalist, Jeff McMullen
introduced "Our Generation", the film by Sinem Saban and
Damien Curtis which we were there to see. The film explored
in depth the Federal Government Intervention into
Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory. Jeff had
told us that the film�s producers were not having any
success in having the film shown on government or
commercial media outlets and they were having to screen it
in local community halls to show the community at large
just what was involved in the Intervention. It is basically
a war on Aboriginal culture. The dispossession of the
Aboriginal people is simply continuing in a new guise."
Carol Gerrard

See:

Our Generation: http://www.ourgeneration.org.au/

Aboriginal Support Group - Manly Warringah Pittwater:
http://www.asgmwp.net/index.htm


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http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-aboriginal-\
rights-australia

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Possible Release of French Reporter in Colombia Generates Expectation
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/133070
======================================================
Piedad C�rdoba to Take Part in FARC Release of Journalist

Bogot�, May 14 (Prensa Latina) Pacifist and former senator Piedad Cordoba agreed
today to join a commission to welcome French journalist Romeo Langlois, as
requested by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), but urged the
government to make a statement on the matter.

"It is impossible, as a leader of Colombians for Peace, to refuse to a request
of a humanitarian task because that would not be in line with what we do or what
we are fighting for," she said.

FARC announced on Sunday their willingness to release Langlois, for which they
suggested to hand him over in a safe place to a commission made up of the Red
Cross, Cordoba and a personal delegate of the new president of France.

In response to a question from journalists about if she already held contacts
with the International Red Cross Committee, Cordoba said "not to the moment."

"Anyway, the release will not take place in the next few days, as just yesterday
the FARC communiqu� was made public and up to the moment there has not be any
contact for the process," she said.

She reaffirmed that Colombians for Peace is waiting for a government statement
to start the study of procedures to release the French reported, held by FARC
since April 28.

Cordoba also demanded an explanation about what really happened when Langlois
was held by the guerrilla amid combat.

In this regard, she warned there could be a predetermined government decision to
violate international humanitarian right, as the journalist was in fatigues when
he was captured.

Langlois, 35, a France 24 correspondent, was captured by FARC on April 28 in a
rural area of Caquerta department while accompanying an Army anti-drug operation
and clashes ensued with the guerrillas.

In a communiqu� confirming the capture, FARC said the French journalists wore
fatigues amid the clashes.

sgl/rma/lac/acl
Modificado el ( lunes, 14 de mayo de 2012 )

Tuesday May 22, 7pm - Bolivia Movie “Even the Rain” and discussion on
Bolivia social movements
& LASNET organising meeting
LASNET Space Trades Hall; corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets

Dear all, here a new reminder or our next organising meeting and the screen
presentation of “Even the Rain” a film that shows Bolivian society during
the water war that expelled a Multinational which was in charge of Water supply
and distribution. Movie will start at 7pm sharp...Also enclose calendar of next
meetings and events, get involved, you participation is important, make a
booking for our Solidarity dinner next Saturday May 26...



Synopsis: The politics of the past and present begin to merge during the making
of a motion picture in this drama from director Icíar Bollaín. Spanish movie
director Sebastián (Gael García Bernal) and his producer Costa (Luis Tosar)
have arrived in Bolivia to shoot a picture about Columbus' exploration and
exploitation of the New World. While Sebastián has come to Bolivia for
realistic scenery, Costa has chosen the location for the cheap and abundant
supply of labour. An open casting call for extras attracts far more people than
the picture needs, but when Costa tries to send them away, one would-be actor,
Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri), makes a strong and eloquent case for fair
treatment of the locals, and Sebastián casts him as Hatuey, the chief of a
native tribe who fought the invading Spaniards. As Sebastián stages scenes of
revolt against would-be colonists, a real battle is brewing in Colombia -- the
government has privatized the national water works, and the price of water has
jumped by 300 percent, leading to protests and riots in the streets of
Cochabamba. Daniel is one of the activists protesting price gouging for
something as essential as water -- will Sebastián and his colleagues join him
in speaking out against this injustice?

Lots of hugs, abrazos y saludos

Lucho on behalf of
Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET)
lasnet@...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2012/may/may15/news14.php

Last Updated: Tue, 15.05.12 19:39
Parties agree on 11-state federal model, mixed governance system with
directly elected President; UML to join govt

The three major political parties, UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and
UML together with the Madhesi Front, Tuesday reached a breakthrough on
the new constitution as they agreed on 11-province federal structure
along with mixed governance system.

As per the agreement reached during talks held at the Prime Minister
Baburam Bhattarai's official residence in Baluwatar, the names of the
provinces would be determined by elected state assemblies themselves.
The federal states would be carved out on the basis of ethnicity,
geography and language, said Maoist vice-chairman Narayan Kaji
Shrestha after the meeting.

The parties also agreed to form a commission to determine the boundary
of the provinces.

Likewise, they also agreed to go for mixed system of governance with
directly elected President who will share powers with the Prime
Minister elected from the parliament.

Similarly, the leaders have also agreed on a bicameral parliament with
the 371-member Lower House (House of Representatives) and 60-member
Upper House.

With today's agreement, the UML has agreed to join the government.
General secretary Ishwor Pokharel will lead the UML team in the
government. The UML ministers are expected to be inducted in the
cabinet on Wednesday.

The Bhattarai government will practically turn into a government of
national consensus once the UML joins it.

--
Peace Is Doable